Planets and Moons. Overview This online lessons consists of the chapters The Solar System The...
-
Upload
vernon-chapman -
Category
Documents
-
view
217 -
download
0
Transcript of Planets and Moons. Overview This online lessons consists of the chapters The Solar System The...
Planets and Moons
Overview
This online lessons consists of the chapters
The Solar SystemThe PlanetsMoonsPlanets of other starsMore information: Links
The Solar System
What is the Solar System?
In the Universe,the Solar System is our homeland,and the Earth is our hometown.
The Solar System
The Solar System consists of
the sun in its centrenine planets,
circling around the sunmoonsasteroidsand comets.
The Solar System
How did the Solar System evolve?
Scientists are quite sure, that in the beginning of our Solar System there was a huge disc of dirt, rocks, gas, ice etc.
In the middle of this disc, the Sun formed itself and began to glow.
In some distances from the centre, the planets emerged from these rings of dirt, rocks and gas.
The Solar System
How large is our Solar System?
The orbit on which Pluto (the farthest planet) circles the sun, has an average diameter of 5.910.000.000 km (Pluto‘s orbit is rather non-circular).
The sun itself, the largest object in our Solar System has a diameter of 1.392.520 km.
The Solar System
How can I imagine these sizes and distances?
Imagine the Solar System being a soccer ground (about 100 m long).
The sun would be a glaring orange in the centre.Pluto would encircle the sun at the edge of the
soccer ground, having the size of a dust particle.The Earth would be 1,30m away from the
“orange“, having the size of a sesame seed.
The Solar System
The Planets
Mercury is the planet that is closest to our Sun. Pluto is the farthest. Remember the order of the planets like this:
My Very Educated Mother Just Showed Us Nine Planets
which means
Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptun Pluto
Mercury
What are Mercury‘s features?
second smallest planetnearest to the sunone Mercury-year is a quarter Earth-yearMercury is very difficult to be spotted with the
naked eyeMercury has no moons
Venus
What are Venus‘ features?
it is a medium sized planet, 2.5 times as large as Mercury
second nearest to the sunVenus is very well visible to the naked eye,
always close to the sun before sunrise or after sunset
Venus has no moons
Earth
What are Earth‘s features?
it is a medium sized planet, a bit larger than Venus
(probably) the only planet with liquid water in our Solar System
the Earth has one moon(probably) the only planet with intelligent life in
our Solar System
Mars
What are Mars‘ features?
it is a small sized planet, half as large as EarthMars is well visible to the naked eyeMars has two moons: Phobos and DeimosMars has been visited by robotic vehicles:
Pathfinder, Spirit and Opportunitythe question for (former) life on Mars is still
unsolved
Jupiter
What are Jupiter‘s features?
it is the largest planet of the Solar System,more than 1.300 Earths could fit inside
Jupiter is well visible to the naked eyeThe Great Red Spot on its surface is a giant
storm as wide as three EarthsJupiter has 63 moons! (the largest are Io,
Callisto, Ganymede and Europa)
Saturn
What are Saturn‘s features?
it is the second-largest planet of the Solar System, only a bit smaller than Jupiter
Saturn is well visible to the naked eyethe famous rings can be seen with small
telescopesSaturn has at least 34 moons! (recently a probe
landed on Jupiter‘s moon Titan)
Uranus
What are Uranus‘ features?
it is medium sized planet of the Solar Systemit is quite far away but still can be spotted with
small telescopeslike Saturn, Uranus has a system of ringsSaturn has at least 27 moons
Neptune
What are Neptune‘s features?
it is medium sized planet of the Solar System, only a little bit smaller than Uranus
it is quite far away but still can be spotted with small telescopes
Neptune has four rings and at least 13 moons
Pluto
What are Pluto‘s features?
it was the smallest planet of our Solar System, and is now considered a dward planet
Since Pluto is far away and so small, you need a medium-sized professional telescope or a good amateur telescope to spot it.
Noone knows what Pluto looks like – it‘s too far away and too small. The picture in the background is an artist‘s rendition.
Pluto has one moon: Charon
Moons
What are moons?
Moons are like little planets that encircle the real planets.
Usually, they are much smaller than planets.Planets can have no moons (like Mercury and
Venus), one moon (like Earth) or up to a very large number of moons (e.g. 63 for Jupiter).
Moons
Phobos and Deimos
Phobos and Deimos are Mars‘ companions. Phobos means “fear“, Deimos means “panic“. Mars itself has been named for the Roman God of War.
They are quite small (<15km) and look rather like potatoes than like moons.
Moons
Io, Callisto, Ganymed and Europa
These four moons are the biggest moons of Jupiter. They can be seen with small telescopes or even with binoculars.
Europa
Io
Planets of other stars
Are there more planets in the Universe (except for the ones in the Solar System)?
Yes, there are other planets, so-called extra-solar planets.
But it is very difficult to spot them, since they are far far away.
Planets of other stars
How can planets of other stars be spotted?
There are two main ways that astronomers search for these planets:
If you observe a star very accurately with special instruments, you may be able to measure a slight “wobble“. This can indicate a planet.
If you can observe many stars after night, you may sometimes see one get slightly fainter for a little while. This happens if a planet passes between us and the star – like a mini-eclipse.
More Information
SkyWatch links:Views of the Solar SystemThe Nine PlanetsStarChild
Celestia Exploration Activity:http://learn.arc.nasa.gov/planets/
Solar System Exploration:http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/
Welcome to the Planets:http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/